Ange Postecoglou is relishing the task of facing the "unbelievable" Claudio Ranieri when Tottenham Hotspur face Roma in the Europa League on Thursday.
Ranieri came out of retirement earlier this month to take charge of the Giallorossi until the end of the season, returning for a third stint at the club.
Across his previous two spells, the 73-year-old managed 96 games in all competitions, registering 53 wins, with a win percentage of 55.21%.
His first game in charge ended in defeat, however, with Roma losing against Napoli, as former striker Romelu Lukaku scored the only goal of the game for Antonio Conte's side.
Thursday's meeting will be the first between Roma and Tottenham, and Postecoglou is looking forward to the tie, as well as taking on Ranieri.
"It's unbelievable. It just goes to show the passion he has for the game, because I'm sure there's more enjoyable, simpler ways to enjoy his life now, but he still has that in him," he said.
"I haven't come across him before, but I'm looking forward to saying hello because it's always nice to actually meet some of these people who have made such a massive impact on football, particularly in my field, management.
"He's always come across as a gentleman. I'm looking forward to meeting him, and it just goes to show that kind of bug for being a manager on the touchline doesn't leave you."
Spurs come into the encounter on the back of an impressive 4-0 victory over Manchester City last Saturday, inflicting Pep Guardiola's fifth defeat in as many matches.
Postecoglou's side have also impressed in Europe, winning their last seven home matches in the Europa League without conceding, while also scoring 19 goals themselves.
Spurs have endured an up and down start to the campaign, with consistency in results failing to transpire, particularly in the Premier League thus far.
While Postecoglou acknowledged there had been some difficult moments this term, he lauded his players for some of the outstanding football they have played this season.
"You'll see the same Spurs you see every game. It's about going out there and trying to play our football and try and be the best we can be," Postecoglou said.
"Sometimes, that doesn't work out and hasn't worked out for us in a couple of games this year. We know that and it's something we need to kind of improve.
"At the same time, it's been more good than bad. If you are looking for likely outcomes, I'd say good but we have had the flat spots that we are working through.
"I don't discount the football we have played either. We've played some outstanding football. For me, it is about progress.
"I keep saying that we're a better side than we were last year and we want to keep improving and if we keep improving, the areas where there are gaps, we will slowly overcome."
Chelsea must not underestimate Heidenheim test, says Maresca
Enzo Maresca insists his Chelsea players must be mentally prepared for the challenge that Heidenheim will pose in tomorrow's Europa Conference League clash.
Chelsea are one of six sides, along with Heidenheim, with a perfect record in the competition so far, though the Blues lead the way in the 36-team league table having scored 16 goals in three games.
The Blues' superior goal difference was helped by their 8-0 thrashing of Noah in their last game, scoring six goals in the first-half, which was the largest lead by an English side at the break of a major European game since Derby County were winning 9-0 against Finn Harps in the 1976-77 UEFA Cup.
Though Chelsea have already swept aside the sides put in front of them in the competition so far, Maresca does not want complacency to undermine his side's performance against the Bundesliga club.
"I enjoy every game in this competition knowing that every club tries to make it their big game," Maresca said.
"The issue for us can be that if we are not ready mentally, and we underestimate a team, they can hurt us. So we need to be ready.
"It’s an important competition, a European competition. Since we started, we have tried to share minutes with all the players in the squad.
"In some of the [Conference League] games, we have also used some young players. So we’ll see. In this moment, it’s like this, and hopefully, we can continue in this way."
With the hectic December fixture list to begin on Sunday with Aston Villa's visit to Stamford Bridge, a number of players have not travelled with the squad.
Yet Maresca provided a positive update on Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto, both of whom were absent for their 2-1 victory over Leicester City on Saturday.
"Both have trained with us," he said. "We don’t take any risks for tomorrow’s game, but I think both should be available for Sunday’s game [against Aston Villa]."
Red Star Belgrade 5-1 Stuttgart: Five-star hosts earn first Champions League win
Red Star Belgrade claimed the first win of their Champions League campaign, coming from behind to thrash Stuttgart 5-1 at the Stadion Rajko Mitic on Wednesday.
This was only the Serbian SuperLiga leaders' third ever win in the competition, and they had to come from behind to move up to 31st in the standings after five games.
Ermedin Demirovic opened the scoring for the visitors in the fifth minute, capitalising on some slack defending to net his seventh goal of the season in all competitions.
However, Stuttgart loanee Silas Katompa Mvumpa restored parity six minutes later, driving from midfield before sending a curled effort beyond Alexander Nubel.
The hosts were ahead just past the half-hour mark through Rade Krunic, who netted his first club goal for over two years, his last coming for AC Milan in the 2022-23 campaign.
Red Star continued to threaten after the interval and were rewarded in the 65th minute when Mirko Ivanic ghosted in at the far post to head in his side's third.
Krunic turned provider four minutes later, teeing up Nemanja Radonjic before the Serbian striker notched his second a minute from time with a low left-footed finish.
Data Debrief: Fifth time lucky
After going four games without a win in the competition, Red Star did not look like a side lacking confidence as they confidently dispatched their Bundesliga opponents.
Their victory was their biggest across both the Champions League and European Cup when conceding first, while they also inflicted Stuttgart’s joint-heaviest defeat in the competition.
Red Star also scored five goals in a game in the Champions League or European Cup for the first time since a 5-0 win at Dundalk in September 1988, while it was their biggest triumph in the competition since beating Portadown 4-0 in October 1991.
Sturm Graz 1-0 Girona: Biereth fires hosts to first win
Sturm Graz climbed from the bottom of the Champions League table after Mika Biereth's second-half strike in a 1-0 victory over Girona on Wednesday.
Sturm's Biereth broke the deadlock just before the hour mark, slotting home from close range after Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga had saved a shot from inside the box.
Girona should have scored midway through the first half when Ivan Martin found himself unmarked in front of an unguarded net but he somehow sent the ball over the bar.
That miss characterised familiar struggles for Michel's men in this competition, with last season's surprise package in LaLiga slipping down to 30th in the standings.
Girona have just one win to their name in this season's Champions League, in which Sturm collected their first points of the campaign with this victory.
Data Debrief: Away-day struggles for Girona
Girona have lost all three of their away games in the Champions League without scoring a goal, becoming the first Spanish side to ever suffer consecutive defeats in their first three away matches in the competition.
Goals remain an issue for Michel's side, who have failed to score in three of their five games, only Bologna (four) and Salzburg (four) have failed to score more often in the 2024-2025 tournament.
Wednesday also marked Sturm Graz's first win against a Spanish side in Europe, previously losing five of their six such matches (D1).
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